﻿﻿

I'm going to go ahead and jump on the 2013 book list recommendation wagon because I love books, I love lists, and I love reading book lists, so why not?! Here are my picks for rad books you should pick up in the new year (does anyone use the word "rad" anymore?):

Francesca has been my muse and mentor since I was 16 years old, so of course her books will always make my top lists.

Her newest book is a retelling of Odysseus set in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. There's magic, art, love, giants, battle scenes, and mystical creatures on this journey written in Ms. Block's signature lyrical style. It's swoon worthy.

I gobbled this one up in two days, I think. Throughout the book you'll learn about the real story behind all those fairy tales you read as a kid AND how to use the magic and mysticism of the stories in your own life.

Fairy Tale Rituals explores the eerie, seductive Faerie lore lying just beneath the surface of eleven favorite fairy tales. Feel the fear and passion these stories once inspired in ancient listeners. Learn how to create modern rituals that will bring the archetypal magical characteristics of these fairy tale icons -- the sexual attractiveness of Snow White, the totem animal journey of Rose-Red, the manifestation prowess of Cinderella -- into your own life.

When I found the 90-day novel, I was looking for something that would provide writing guidance as well as inspiration. This book delivers!

It not only helps you pen your draft in 90 days, it also helps you structure your plot and build your characters and their world in such a way that doesn't feel restricted and rigid. The whole process is free flowing so that you don't feel like the first draft has to come out perfect.

Working in this way, story structure (which is often taught as a formula) becomes a springboard, setting you free to explore the far reaches of your imagination. "There are no rules," Watt tells us. "Stay out of your left brain, and let your unconscious do the heavy lifting." The 90-Day Novel clearly articulates the process of marrying the rigor of story structure to the wildness of the imagination, and in the process reminds us of something we so often forget...that writing is actually fun.

This book is pure beauty. Real, raw, honest-to-goodness life lessons told through the eyes of two adventurers who set out to cross the U.S. in a Volkswagen camping van. I read it before I moved to the Philippines and it spoke to me so completely, sparked the wanderer inside me. It's definitely a road trip you won't forget.